Why is Roy Harper so acclaimed by his peers?

Ian Anderson prefers him to Dylan.
Hats Off to Roy Harper by Led Zep.
Contributions by Gilmore, Page, Kate Bush and Anderson on his recordings.

I've got a two cd comp and a couple of albums, but few of his songs really grab me the way, say, Richard Thompson or Bert Jansch (and their respective bands) so often do.

Am I missing something?

BTW, the live version of Highway Blues with Page on guitar does provide chills, and not just because of the guitar playing. But so much of what I've heard is just pleasant but not particularly memorable singer-songwriter folk.

Because he's incredibly underrated. He sang the lead vocal on Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar but most people would not know that. Harper has some spotty records for sure but Stormcock, HQ and Lifemask are amazing.

Ian Anderson prefers him to Dylan.
Hats Off to Roy Harper by Led Zep.
Contributions by Gilmore, Page, Kate Bush and Anderson on his recordings.

I've got a two cd comp and a couple of albums, but few of his songs really grab me the way, say, Richard Thompson or Bert Jansch (and their respective bands) so often do.

Am I missing something?

BTW, the live version of Highway Blues with Page on guitar does provide chills, and not just because of the guitar playing. But so much of what I've heard is just pleasant but not particularly memorable singer-songwriter folk.

Click to expand...

I kind of agree with you, but he's got some interesting lyrics, I think his supposed mental instability has something to do with his renown

I kind of agree with you, but he's got some interesting lyrics, I think his supposed mental instability has something to do with his renown

Click to expand...

IIRC, he joined the RAF when he was a teenager because he hated school and his family and was desparate to get away from both. Incredibly, he did not seem to appreciate the discipline a military career entailed. He grew to hate the RAF as well, so to get discharged he faked insanity. This led to two things: (i) his discharge and (ii) [unfortunately] electro-shock therapy for a mental disorder he did not possess. Ironically, the electro-shock treatments probably led to some mental instability (which I'm presuming was also aggravated by drug use).

In addition to the brilliant 1971 "Stormcock", "Whatever Happened to Jugula", the mid 80s album with Jimmy Page has some great moments too. I was a major Roy Harper fan in the '80s-'90s and bought his entire catalogue over time. Loved the guitar playing, the melodies, the wordplay... much more interesting to me than other singer-guitarists.

Because he's incredibly underrated. He sang the lead vocal on Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar but most people would not know that. Harper has some spotty records for sure but Stormcock, HQ and Lifemask are amazing.

Click to expand...

I believe I have Lifemask, should probably pull it and give it a spin.

Because he's incredibly underrated. He sang the lead vocal on Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar but most people would not know that. Harper has some spotty records for sure but Stormcock, HQ and Lifemask are amazing.

Click to expand...

I didn´t!
Really? I don´t know him but I always assume that Gilmour sang it. I love that song.

I was in your camp as well until recently. I was never all that thrilled with him and for the hell of it I started exploring his stuff in more depth and now I see it from both sides. It was through Tea Party's Jeff Martin more so than Page or the others that I took an interest in his music. I am particularly taken with Roy Harper's song, "I Hate The White Man" although for a four chord folk song it is a bit lengthy. But I am still exploring his stuff. I will say that his singing is not exceptional but I can see where at that time, not unlike say, Syd Barrett or Nick Drake for example, he might have caught people's attention.

Whatever mental illness he may have succumbed to by way of electro-shock treatments or drug use...it didn't hurt his intellect any. I think what really won me over was his intelligence after having read some of his writing online...this piece in particular really alerted my attention to how knowledgable he is:

Recorded under primitive circumstances and not distributed well on initial release, Harper's debut proves that the definitive cult folk-rock singer's idiosyncratic weirdness was firmly in place from the start. Mostly but not wholly acoustic, there are lingering similarities to Donovan and Bert Jansch, as well as a light similarity to Al Stewart on occasion. But Harper's scrambled lyricism is already his own, as is his peculiar melismatic phrasing. Those two traits combine to give the impression of a singer-songwriting dyslexic, not able or willing to write words that are easily digested and apparently unsequenced in any linear fashion. That isn't the most appetizing recipe, but it's leavened by fairly attractive British folk melodies and very accomplished guitar work (the liner notes infer that John Renbourn and Ritchie Blackmore helped out). Although this is largely acoustic, electric guitar and backing are used from time to time, as well as reverb and backwards effects that give it a dated charm. Certainly the most uncharacteristic arrangement is "Committed," a crunching, ominous rock tune whose first-person account of madness recalls Syd Barrett's most distraught work (and is if anything more distraught than Barrett's loony tunes). And speaking of Pink Floyd, "October 12th" makes you wonder if Harper's influence didn't find its way into the post-Syd Floyd on tunes like "Grantchester Meadows."

Roy's one of the great eccentrics of the British music scene. Unfortunately that very eccentricity is one of the main things that has precludes him from gaining any form of major success despite the patronage of both Led Zep and Pink Floyd. His voice though powerful and very emotive can be quite bracing and his lyrics are accerbic to say the least. When you listen to his most acclaimed works of the early 70's 'Stormcock' and 'Lifemask' you are confronted by full on no holds barred polemics skewering organised religion mercilessly. Roy also seems to have no embarrassment about laying his emotional and personal life out to his listeners, witness his painful Death Or Glory album from the early nineties where he is mired in self pity and bitterness over the departure of his wife jacqui to the violinist Nigel Kennedy. I cant listen to that album it makes me cringe! However he's brilliant and possibly a genius but he holds nothing back and nothing is sanded down for the listener both musically and lyrically.